120 Dead As Cyclone Storm Hits Madagascar

The Madagascan town of Mananjary was largely destroyed after Tropical Cyclone Batsirai hit the town on Saturday, reports say.

The storm left 120 people dead, mainly on the east coast of the Indian Ocean island nation, which took the hardest hit.

Martin Marin, a French Red Cross logistics officer said in a statement to the Agence France-Presse (AFP) that; "For the moment, the initial evaluations undertaken are very alarming. We're talking about nine out of 10 homes damaged by the cyclone, especially around Mananjary.”

Doctors without Borders (MSF) also said in a statement that their teams had visited the town and found it largely destroyed.

The MSF logistics officer, Joaquin Noterdaeme said; "The hospital is no longer functioning, 5 health centres are completely destroyed in the area and the roofs of 35 other structures have been blown off.”

“The hospital patients have been evacuated to a clinic opened urgently to receive them.”

"The state of the roads is getting worse as we go, and many of them are still being cleared. The roads are unstable, sometimes with a deep hole under the asphalt, and can collapse at any time."